Ironing-board construction



July 3, 1923. 1,460,432

R. F. NADIG ET AL IRONING BOARD CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 15-I 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l July`3, 1923. 1.460.432 R. F. NADIG EIT AL IRONING BOARD CONTRUCTION Filed Jan. 15, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 3, 1923.

unifi-eo f ysrnr ns ROBERT F. 'NADIGiANZD WILLIAM DNSOMERS, 'OF GLEVELAND, '.OH'IO.

PATENT. fia0fr`rsfltr-.

morirme-nonni) consirnucrion. l

.applimieten and January 15, v192,1. serial N O. 437,437. l

To .all whom t `may concern.'

Be it known that we, ROBERT l?. NADIG and lViLLIAM. D. .'Sor'inns., citizens of the United IStates, and Vresidents of, `Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ollio, have jointly invented a new `and .useful lin-provemenft in Ironing-Board Constructions, or which .the following is .a specication, the principle of .the invention .being herein eX- p'lained and the bestl mode in which .we have contemplated `applying that principle, .so as to distinguish it fromlother inventions. i

This invention relates ,to an improved form of .ironing boardconstruction. More particularly., it .inv-clues the type of ironing boardwhich .ie aadapjted to be clamped .in supporting engagement .with some stationary obiect inthe kitchen ,or laundry,.such .as a :tab-le vor laundry tub, and is .readily attachab'le thereto or removable therefrom. Y

In .many ,types of ironing board construction, .thesu porting `fra'niewolk .is .of =very light and flimsy character,andfunder the cross-strains involved in .the ironing operations, V`soon loses its .rigidity'and becomes un.-

suitable forthe -work inliand. lvVhen such ironing .boards .are provided with attachments whereby .they may be .fastened .to a table .or wall, .they are, ordinarily, of such construction l`that they .must .be used in one particular .place andare not readily adaptable for attachment Lto any convenient object, wherever desired. 4

The .principal object fof our invention is to provide a-nironing hoard .construction of the tvne which is supported against a rigid object in .thekitchen or laundry, and which will be readily .adjustable so as to -be attached to A:any such 4object in a minimum amount .of time ,and 1in .such position that the ironing board proper .will V.be horizontally disposed land .the supporting vportion thereof solidly and .firmly claniped thereunder. Further .objects of ,our invention will be disclosed inthecourseot .the following description, among .them :the provision Aoi means ltor attaching the ironn-gboard toether a .horizontal support .or .one of vertical or A`arrendar position, .as Well the .supplying of a 'fasf tening device whereby the vsurpartirg .strucaire devised .by as .may be 'attaohed to er1-.r ironing hoard of the usual construction and to'either sident such hoard, as desired. 'llo the accomplishment-of the foregoing and re; lated ends, said :invention then, consists-Ot themeans yhereinafter tully described and particularly pointed'out .in :the claims.

The .annexed drawing and 'the following description set forthr in detailnertain mechanism embodying the `invention, *such .disclosed-means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical .forms in which .the

principle ,of the invention may .be used. Y In lsaid annexeddrawingzvFigure l is a side elevationshowingour ironing board construction attached .Ito the edge of a table; y

Fig.. 2 is a bottom plan view'ot theclamping member. of our construction, vthe supporting legs and brace arms fleeing omitted;

.Fi-g. .3 is an endelevationxtaken trom the y right-hand side of the view shown in Eig. 1;

lFig. l is an .enlarged sectional view .of the hinge construction employed `ley us A taken along ,the line 4 4: in ig.' l, looking in :the

v direction Aof the arrows;

Fig.. .5 'is `an enlarged detail View, partly in section, showing a side view of ythe .hi-nge construction when the ironing board 4isattached to a horizontalsupporting element;

Fig. 6 ,is an enlarged plan lview. of :the centrai portion oi' the clamping element JempLloyed; e y

Fig. 7 is Aa sectional detail view .taken along the-line 7 7 of Fig. v6, looking in the direction 'of the arrows, showing the clamp in locking engagement with the lookingiping Fig.. 8 is an enlarged vertical sec-tional vieu7 taken along the lined-. S shownin Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows, disclosing the character of the clamp terminals employed; n Fig. 9 .is an/enlarged sectional view of one of lthe vclamping racks .taken along rthe lline 9.-.9 yShfOWfn in Fig 2,; and l Fi-g. vl0 is' a-det-ail `View vshowing our improved ironing board attached .to the suhstantially .vertical ,edgenf va laundry tub.

In the -ormy of 'our inventionil-lustrated in V.Fi-gs, l, 2 and-.Kthe ironing board 1 has sleeves .5pt rectangular,...cross-section and termin ating in a pair of '.upstafndingears :6,

each oyijded with suitable Aai@ertnres iter engagement over said pivot pins. Within said'respective -vslee-ves, the upper .ends of a pair .0st supporting legs 9 are engaged, the

outer faces thereof being beveled so that when the legs stand at approximately an angle of forty-ve degrees to the ironing board, the beveled faces 11, 12 will be in horizontal and vertical positions, respectively. Approximately midway of the length of the pair of legs, a pivot-rod 15 is provided upon which there is mounted a brace member 16 formed of a pair of parallel arms connected by several transverse bracing members 17, 18. -The upper end of each of said arms is tapered to a size to tit within the recesses provided in the rack members 3 secured to the ironing boa-rd and heretofore referred to. A pair of coil springs 21 are mounted upon the pivot-pin for the brace members, each being so fastened to its adjacent arm as to hold the same in engaging position with said rack. The lower ends of the pair of supporting legs are connected by means of a transverse member 22 and the under faces 23 of said lower ends are suitably rounded so as to have a substantial line of contact with the floor when our apparatus is placed in clamping position, whether such position is an elevated one or of less height than that ordinarily employed.

In order to utilize our invention upon any standard type of ironing board and to attach it to either side thereof and in this manner prevent the undue warping of the board through the use of one side exclusively, we have designed an adjustable clamping means which may be rigidly secured to such board with a minimum amount of trouble and with substantially the same degree of rigidity as where a permanently attached construction is employed. This clamping member, aS is best shown in Fig. 2, comprises a base plate 31 provided at its forward edge with a pair of upturned gripping hooks 32 and centrally with a pair of pivot-pins 33 upon which are engaged, respectively, two lever arms 34 having at their outer ends upwardly turned hook elements 35 for engaging the ironing board. Adjacent the' outer sides of the base plate are a pair of ears 36 providing points of attachment for pivot-pins 37 about which turn supplementary clamping members 51 designed for use when our apparatus is to be attached to a substantially vertical support, such as the edge of a laundry tub. Adjacent the outer ends of the clamping levers 34 are connected a pair of links 38, which, at their other ends, are pivoted upon a pin 39 which also serves as a pivot for a double link member 41, within which is pivoted vthe locking lever of the clamping member, comprising a double metallic strap member 42 pivoted centrally upon a pin 43 at the end of the double link 41 and carrying at its shorter end a locking-pin 44 adapted to be engaged in any one of a series of notches 45 provided l upon one end of an extension link 46 which,

at its other end, is connected by means of a pair of short toggle links 47 with a pair of clamping arms 48 of substantially the same shape and inclination as the clamping arms 34 first referred to. The last-mentioned pair of clamping arms is connected midway by means of a transverse strap 49. Securely aiixed to said strap are the pair of rack members 3, which are so positioned that they will be engaged by the upper ends of the brace arms, as heretofore described.

As is best illustrated in Fig. 10, the means for connecting our apparatus to a substantially vertical member 50, such as a laundry tub, comprises a pair of arms 52, each pivoted at one end to the pins 37 secured to the ears 36 of the base plate 31, and downwardly turned at their free ends. Adjacent each of said downwardly turned portions, a resilient gripping member 53 is secured, it being spaced a suiiicient distance to be engageable over a laundry tub of the conventional form and usual thickness. The inner endsof these attaching devices, being pivoted upon the base of the plates, may be swung back to a position, shown in Figs.l 1 and 2, under the central Portion of the board when it is to be attached to a horizontal support. When the board is to be attached to a vertical member,

these clamping elements last described are swung forwardly upon either side of the ironing board to a position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in full lines in Fig. 10. In this position, as is clearly shown in Fig. 10, the vertical face 12 upon the upper end of the clamping legs will bear against its adjacent resilient element 53 and force the same into firm clamping contact with the object to which the board is to be attached, being locked into position by the engagement of the brace arms with the rack members. The clamping legs can be adjusted longit-udinally to give any desired pressure to said clamping members. In other respects, the parts are identical with those employed where the board is to be attached to a horizontal member.

The operation of our construction, it is believed, will be obvious from the description above set forth. When the board is to be applied to a horizontal object, such, for example, as a table edge or the edge of the draining board upon a kitchen sink, the upper ends of the legs are permitted to project through the clamping sleeves to the position in which they will securely engage such object, with the ironing board in substantially horizontal position, and are then firmly clamped in said sleeves by lmeans of the bolts and wing-nuts. The lower ends of the supporting legs will then be placed upon the iioor' and held thereon by the foot of the operator pressed against the lower cross-bar or the adjacent structure'.` The free end Gf the ironing board is then pulled upwardly and, because of the enormous lll) y of the board and will ride over the recesses therein until the desired degree of clamping adjustment of the board upon the table edge is secured. Through the minute adjustment of the projecting ends of the legs permitted by the sleeves, any desired amount of clamping pressure may be employed and the ironing board may be maintained in absolutely horizontal position regardless of the thickness of the edge of the supporting member to which it is applied. The same is true with regard to the gripping -of a substantially vertical supporting member.

As has been above disclosed, we have provided ina single unitary construction an ironing board of universal application, in so far as the type of construction herein referred to is concerned. Thus, yany standard size and style of ironing board may be convertedV in a few minutes into a bracesupported board of this character and a very rigid positioning of said board will result. The construction is' simple inv design and inexpensive to manufacture and carries as integral parts the necessary elements to operate in either of the positions heretofore described, without reassembling the parts thereof yor laboriously substituting attachments in lieu of those originally used. I

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed,

provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of suchv stated means be employed.

We, therefore, particularly point-out and distinctly claim as our invention 1. In apparatus of the class described, an ironing board, an adjustable supporting member ,secured to the under-side thereof,

va pivoted leg clamping element mounted thereon, a supporting leg slidingly engaged Y insaid leg clamping element, a rack mem- `ber secured to said adjustable supporting i member, and a brace arm pivotedk to said supporting member, its outer end engaging said rack member.` L

2. Aniironing board attachment, comprising' a supporting frame adapted to be rigidly clamped to the under-side of an ironing board, `pivoted leg clamping members and rack members provided on said frame, supporting legs associated with said leg clamping members, and brace members pivoted at one end to said legs, the other ends thereof engaging said rack members.

l3.. An ironing board attachment, comprising a Vsupporting* frame adapted to be.

rigidly clamped to the underside kof an ironing board, a pivoted leg clamping member and rack member provided on said frame,v

a supporting' leg adjustably associated with said leg clamping member, a brace member pivoted at one endv to said supporting leg, the other end thereof engaging said rac member, and clamping means mountedV on said frame and adapted -to be moved to project therebeyond so as to be operatively engaged by the `upper end of said supporting leg.

4:. An ironing board attachment, comprising a" supporting. frame adapted to be rigidly clamped to the under-side of an ironing' board, pivoted leg clamping membersv and rack members provided on said frame, supporting legs adjustablvl associated with said leg clamping members, brace members pivoted at one end to saidsu'pporting legs, the other endsvthereof engaging said rack members, and pairs of resilient clamping members pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted to be moved to project therej beyond so,y as to be engaged bythe upper, ends of said supporting legs.

Signed `by us this 10th day of January,

- ROBERT F. NADIG.

WILLIAM D.y SJOMERS." 

